By Chase KahnHaving just gotten back from Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (more on that later), I am rudely greeted to a stunning development that Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island has been pushed back to a February 19, 2010 release date from its original 10.02.09 date, just a mere 5-6 weeks away.
Specualtion and reports are that it is strictly a money move from Paramount, who is also releasing Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones and Ivan Rietman's Up in the Air and apparently cannot afford to pay distribution, promotion and advertising costs right now and now has just two horses in the 10-Best Picture race.
Almost always this is a barometer for quality, just look at Joe Wright's The Soloist last year, but by all accounts, the film was testing very well in the early stages and buzz was solid. I just hope this isn't Zodiac all over again, where Paramount released David Fincher's masterpiece in a desolate March, all but destroying its chances at catching on with the awards circuit and giving it the proper recognition it deserved.
Posts
I was shocked to read this as well, very seldom is this a good sign though. Even with push back I've heard there's been heavy pressure on Scorsese to edit this movie down to the 2 hour mark (from its current 2hr28min). You'd think studios would learn that when you edit out that much it never turns out well...
ReplyDeleteAs for Paramount's big failure with Zodiac, well they released it in march, then threw the DVD out in July... removing it completely from anywhere near the time Oscar films are being talked about. As well Paramount put no money into supporting its Oscar campaign, overall just poorly done on their part.